


“...Since You’ve Gone Away...”

by Arthuria_PenDragon



Series: Souls of Fire [1]
Category: Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade Metal Saga
Genre: Anime, Canon - Anime, Constellations, Coping, Drawing, Flashbacks, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loneliness, Male Friendship, Mentor & Protégé, Mentor/Protégé, Off-Sceen Death, One Shot, POV Yumiya Kenta, Post-Canon, References to Depression, Sad, Sadness, Song: World So Cold (Three Days Grace), Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25314199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon
Summary: They had won, Nemesis was gone. But Kenta feels no joy. Ryuga is not there with them anymore, after all...
Relationships: Kishatu Ryuuga & L-Drago, Kishatu Ryuuga & Yumiya Kenta, L-Drago & Sagittario (Metal Fight Beyblade), L-Drago & Yumiya Kenta, Sagittario & Yumiya Kenta
Series: Souls of Fire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834333
Comments: 10
Kudos: 12





	“...Since You’ve Gone Away...”

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Recovering Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13196271) by [UnicornTalesLol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornTalesLol/pseuds/UnicornTalesLol). 



> Okay, this... I do not know what is this. I have always loved Beyblade, since I have first seen the anime. Since I found a few old Beyblade drawings/writings of mine, I got nostalgic and re-watched all three seasons of Metal Saga, to combat my writer block and bad mood. Ryuga has, from his first appearance, been my favourite. When Kenta started travelling with Ryuga I did not think I would grow to love seeing them together. For a moment, it seemed Ryuga actually has a friend (and when he waited for Kenta in the desert, I just knew he CARED.)  
> The episode "An Inherited Light" totally broke my heart (again, since I remember it had broken my heart for the very first time too, when the anime was still running in TV).  
> I rewatched Beyblade for some happiness and the sake of memories and in the end, I ended up crying...  
> So, to deal with the (still) disappointing end of Metal Fury, I wrote this.
> 
> Fair warning, I do not really know, what I am doing, since I have never written a songfic before.

Kenta’s days had been strangely quiet, the days spent with his friends in the Beypark and at the B-Pit were fine, but not something he enjoyed the way he once had. Even coming home and seeing his family after traveling to many wonderful/dangerous corners of the world, didn’t make him happy. He _was_ glad to see his family and his childhood friends again, but he wasn’t happy.

He needed a few weeks, to realise, that he was missing the constant, powerful presence of Ryuga and the ever-changing landscape, as they travelled. As the realisation came, the sadness and grief took hold of him.

**_I never thought I'd feel this  
Guilty and broken down inside  
Living with myself, nothing but lies_ **

Back in the Temple of Hades, as he watched L-Drago disintegrate – as he felt the combined power of Bey and Blader flow into him, like liquified fire,– he had just been _angry_. Angry at Rago and Nemesis, because the state he’d seen the ever-composed, powerful Ryuga in, was _their fault_.

**_I always thought I'd make it  
But never knew I'd let it get so bad  
Living with myself is all I have_ **

He didn’t regret leaving Gingka behind, to travel with Ryuga. It had been to bring the Blader to their cause, but it had been _his_ decision. Traveling with the Dragon Emperor had taught him many things and had made him a stronger Blader. It had changed him, as a person. He had learned not to judge without knowing everything, he had learned not to judge people by their past.

**_I feel numb  
I can't come to life  
I feel like I'm frozen in time_ **

He had thought, that he had failed in the end, as Ryuga had gone off on his own. He was powerful, very much so, but Nemesis had been something, not even Ryuga and L-Drago could have hoped to take on, on their own. But the way Ryuga’s eyes had burned on him, burning in that eerie white-blue light...

Ryuga had embraced L-Drago’s powers a long time ago and even when the Star Fragment had come along, he had no problem using that power. The others had not been so confident. Ryuga had immediately known, how to handle his new L-Drago. (He still remembered Gingka admitting after the World Championships, that Ryuga had, in his own detached way, _helped_ him to victory against Julian.)

Kenta had always had doubts about the white-haired Blader. But when the older had shared his food, and when they’d actually started travelling _together_... he had made a friend. Him and Ryuga had been friends. Well, he had considered Ryuga a friend.

_“That one time, it was only for a brief shining moment, I became serious. I promised. TAKE IT, KENTA!!!”_

But no. Rememering those words, Kenta knew Ryuga had in the end, considered him a friend. Or at the very least, trusted him with his power. And a piece of L-Drago’s power as well, for Bey and Fragment had become one and when Ryuga had made him the new Summer Blader, he felt some of L-Drago’s power flow into Saggitario.

**_Living in a world so cold, wasting away  
Living in a shell with no soul, since you've gone away  
Living in a world so cold, counting the days  
Since you've gone away  
You've gone away_ **

They’d won. Ryuga had never downright helped them, but they’d managed to win anyway. But Ryuga was gone and even now, as his friends celebrated peace and started help rebuilding the world, Kenta could not do the same. He was just floating in the quiet, grey sea of sadness. No one really understood, how much he’d missed Ryuga. Ryuga had been his friend.

His mentor.

**_Do you ever feel me?  
Do you ever look deep down inside  
Staring at yourself, paralyzed?_ **

Whenever he practiced, he could feel that warm humm deep in his soul. The power he’d inherited. And whenever he thought of his mentor, that warm humm turned into a raging inferno of _power_. He was stronger, than ever, yet he could not Beyblade the way he once had.

No. As he watched Saggitario spin calmly in the middle of the stadium, unmoved by the weaker Beys of his old friends... (Akira, Osamu and Takeshi were still about and when he’d come back, they’d challenged him to a fight.) He felt numb. He remembered the struggle he had to go trough, to hold L-Drago back, while still dealing with the power drain... It was not the same.

He didn’t fight the other Legendary Bladers, because then, the power he’d been given would blaze and he would get reminded, that it was not _his_ – it would _never_ be his. Ryuga had been chosen first.

**_I feel numb  
I can't come to life  
I feel like I'm frozen in time_ **

But Ryuga was not here anymore. Ryuga was gone and instead of travelling the world with him, Kenta was here. Back in Japan, back with his parents in their house. Sitting on his bed, trying to draw the many memories he had. Trying to freeze them in time, so he would never forget the way Ryuga had smirked, when the battle was done... the way he had handled L-Drago. That, Kenta thought, was the only time, when Ryuga had been _gentle_. When taking care of L-Drago, after a bettle.

**_Living in a world so cold, wasting away  
Living in a shell with no soul, since you've gone away  
Living in a world so cold, counting the days  
Since you've gone away  
You've gone away from me_ **

The memories, the drawings, the skills he had learned from the older and the burning power... they would remain, Kenta knew that much. Those things would remain until the very end, but it was _not_ the same. (He felt alone, he felt cold. But thinking of those nights by the fire, looking at the drawings, he felt a spark of warmness.) Ryuga was gone – he would never see that powerful glint in the golden eyes, or the irrate scowl.

**_I'm too young (I'm too young)  
To lose my soul  
I'm too young (I'm too young)  
To feel this old_ **

And knowing that... it hurt. He already missed Ryuga. The other had hated weakness and that was something he had learned very quickly around him. If there was one thing Ryuga did not tolerate, it was weakness. So, instead of crying Kenta had drowned himself in training and in drawing. When he felt the power, when he saw Saggitario spin in the stadium, it was like Ryuga was there. Just there, behind his back where Kenta could not see, watching his every move.

It was a constant feeling, since the Dragon Emperor had disappeared from the Temple of Hades. A feeling, which had helped, just a bit. He could remember every twitch of the older teen, every gesture. It had been seared into his mind.

**_So long (so long)  
I'm left behind  
I feel like I'm losing my mind_ **

Yet, it felt like it had been a millenia ago, when he had last seen Ryuga. (Only a few months had passed since Nemesis was gone and it already felt like several lifetimes.) He was alone and restless. A part of him was happy to be back home. Another part – the _larger_ part– wanted to be anywhere, but here. Because travelling brought up memories and if he had those memories close, he could never forget the days (months) spent by Ryuga’s side.

When had they become a team? When had they come to that silent agreement of companionship? _When_ had Ryuga started to actually help him learn/teach him about living in the wild? Teach him about Beyblade?

**_Do you ever feel me?  
Do you ever look deep down inside  
Staring at your life, paralyzed?_ **

He was aware, that he was not living his life normally. He often avoided his friends and instead spent hours wandering the outskirts of Metal City. He kept practicing with Saggitario in the forest, as if he were still in the wild.

He had heared his parents conversing one night, coming back after a late training – they were discussing visiting a doctor with him, to “bring him back to normal”. Kenta didn’t want to crush their hopes and tell them, that no matter what, _nothing_ will ever be the same.

He would never forget those burning gold eyes, or the haunting light in the Temple. He will never forget the grotesque shadow of L-Drago, conjured by Nemesis, as it attacked his new Flash Saggitario. (Every Bey had to face its own shadow. He... he and Saggitario had to stare down _that monster_ , which pretended to be a dragon, desecrating L-Drago’s memory.) He will never forget Ryuga’s last words.

**_Living in a world so cold, wasting away  
Living in a shell with no soul, since you've gone away  
Living in a world so cold, counting the days  
Since you've gone away  
You've gone away from me_ **

Kenta placed down the coloured pen he’d been using and looked at the drawing. Ryuga’s gold eyes stared back at him from the paper and as he held his Bey in hand, he could almost see the metal glimmer. Above his mentor, the fierce, ghostly form of L-Drago glared down at the unseen enemy. He could almost feel the heat radiating off of the dragon, its eyes glimmering like a pair of burning stars, the scales an endless mix of orange, red, gold and bronze.

A small smile tugged at his lips, as he placed the drawing pad on his nightstand, next to Saggitario. He was actually proud of himself. This drawing was the best he had so far, and his pad was full of such drawings – memories.

Ryuga by the fire. Ryuga when facing an opponent. There was even a detailed, whole page drawing of L-Drago Destructor, from the front.

**_I'm too young (I'm too young)  
I'm too young (I'm too young)_ **

He nestled into his covers and turned out the light. He was almost afraid to fall asleep. These days, he often dreamed of the creeping shadows.

His mind conjured up a scenario in the Temple of Hades. He would watch his mentor and L-Drago fight against the ultimate evil. He would see that fight, as vividly, as if he had been there – he would feel the searing heat of the fire, feel the deathly, scorching spiral of the Dragon Emperor Life Destructor. He would hear Ryuga’s words clear and sharp, filled with power, as if the older teen were indeed that king – that Empror of the world, he had always desired to be. He would hear the sharp mockery in Rago’s tone and feel the freezing darkness of Nemesis. It numbed him and woke an unfamilar feeling deep in his being. Something he had never felt before. _Fear_.

(It would cost Kenta several months and even more sleepless nights, before he would understand that the bond between Ryuga and L-Drago had been so strong, that when the Fragment had been given to him, he gained the very last memories of the mighty spirit dragon. He would then understand, that no matter what, L-Drago and thus Ryuga, would always be with him. In his memories, in his soul.)

Tomorrow, he’ll have some training to do and since his parents would be off working, he could get away with spending the day in the outskirts of the city. Only him, Saggitario and the warm memory of Ryuga and L-Drago.

He lay his head on the pillow and stared out at the night sky, black like ink. The endless void was punctured by thousands of golden stars. Gold, like Ryuga’s eyes and as fiery, as L-Drago. As his gaze trailed the small piece of the sky he could spy from his current spot, he noticed a constellation.

And not just any constellation.

 _Draco_. The constellation that was shared by Ryuga and L-Drago. As he traced the line of stars, for a moment, it seemed like L-Drago appeared – overshadowing the stars, yet still making them burn brighter. And just like the constellation itself, L-Drago was turned towards him. Watching him. Kenta watched too and for a moment it was, as if he could hear the earth-shattering roar, from a million miles away.

He was alone, yet he wasn’t. The thought made him sad and happy all at once, turning the two emotions into some endless spiral of bittersweet warmness.

As he watched the constellation, the flood of tears burned, cold and bitter, like the power of Nemesis had burned, back _then_. But he didn’t allow the dam to break. He would not cry, because he knew Ryuga had hated crying.

He closed his eyes. _‘I will never forget you, Ryuga. You trusted your power to me and I swear, I will use it, so you will not regret trusting me. Maybe you’ll be even proud.‘_ he woved. A single tear rolled down his cheek, as he drowned in sadness, before sleep numbed him.

Above him, the Draco constellation burned brightly, clearer against the dark sky, than ever before and as long as those stars shone, Kenta would never be alone. For deep inside Saggitario, it was not one constellation, that rested. No, inside Flash Saggitario, _two_ powerful, fiery spirits waited to be unleashed upon the world, to fight for the young Blader. To protect him.

In immediate reach, the golden-armoured Archer waited to leap at the boy’s command. But burried deep within, red-gold fire burned. And hidden within those flames, slept a Dragon with golden eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave comments and constructive criticistm/ tips for writing future songfics are appreciated. :3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Blazing Hearth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27030649) by [Arcylic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcylic/pseuds/Arcylic)




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